Chiaroscuro is defined as "the treatment of light and shadow in drawing and painting." In this video clip from our "You Can Paint" Master Class Sketching course, Tom explains how to apply chiaroscuro to your drawings and, ultimately, your paintings. There are some important concepts in this clip, particularly Tom's discussion of "relief". For those of you fortunate enough … [Read more...]

In this sneak peek of our sketching course, Tom discusses the importance of "V-Shapes" in paintings. V-Shapes and triangles played a significant role in the composition of "Old Master" paintings like those of Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, and Michelangelo. Bill understood these principles, of course, and applied them in all of his paintings. These shapes are among those which help … [Read more...]

We asked why this picture was so important. Here's the answer from Alexander Master Artist Tom Anderson from the sketching course we're giving away as one of the free bonuses in our new "You Can Paint" Master Class. We'll post other excerpts from the sketching course later this week. You can find out more information about our Master Class at this link. … [Read more...]

We've posted this idea before but it can't be emphasized enough. This technique is what will set your paintings apart from every other artist out there. Bill was a master of color. … [Read more...]

Bill gives you some insight into how he selects his color palette for his paintings -- cool colors in winter, warmer colors in spring and summer. Bill plans out everything before he starts. He knows what he is going to do before he puts brush to canvas. … [Read more...]

Boy...is this a difficult concept for beginning painters! I know it was for me. And here's Bill in this video clip covering the entire canvas with black! It LOOKS like he's putting on a lot of paint, but listen to him scrubbing the paint into the canvas. That paint is going in deep so it will stay thin. A sure sign you have too much paint is when your next layer starts to … [Read more...]